Update... First Jam with the HT-40

[Hendog]

I am just blown away by the versatility of this little amp.

-On the clean side it will do a great big modern Fender 6L6 (Hot Rod series) clean and a smaller, more vintage "Class A" style Champ clean with a hint of break up.

-On the dirty side it will do an awesome but kind of generic 80's-90's Hard Rock crunch with a number of ways to dial it in thanks to the ISF and an absolutely crushing Modern High Gain (thank God!) grind!

It does sound a little small but it is amazingly portable. Light AND easy to carry. And it's probably not too bad but I have been using either a oversized Carvin 4x12 w/ V30's or an oversized Mesa 2x12 w/ V30's and a 100 watt head for a while. I briefly plugged the combo into my 4x12 and it sounds huge. Although the V30 is not the speaker for this amp.




I want to try a 2x12 with either Greenbacks, G12H30s, G12T75s, or G12K100s. I may do one Greenback and one G12H30. Thoughts? Anyone swap tubes in this thing yet? Is it even a real tube amp? There are only 2 12AX7's and more gain that any tube amp I have ever owned.




Great amp!

[Hendog]

Anyone out there?

[Hendog]

Questions are underlined...

[SgtThump]

I don't have an answer, but I don't really think the HT40 combo sounds small. It has a mostly closed back and an oversized cabinet with one 12" speaker, which makes it sound bigger than most 1x12" combos I've used (to me!)

I dig the amp!

[TraumaRN]

I personally don't think you would want to run it with speakers that break up too quickly as that amp has tons of gain to spare. I tried it through an Avatar Vintage 2x12 Closed Back with CL 80's and to me it sounded the best- very tight (Cleaner) hi gain than through my stock GB g-Flex 2x12 and through the stock Combo speaker.
I think it was a great amp, just sorry the voicing wasn't to my tastes.

[jlagrassa]

I've tried a couple of JJ preamp tubes and a TungSol RI and thought they were nice but I still prefered the stock tubes in the HT40, Let that 70/80 break in it does get a bit better I've been pushing mine for about 5 months now and its sounds solid. I have the Blackstar HTV-112 extension cab on order the extra 1x12 should add a lot more depth to its tone.

I may experiment at some point with tubes and speakers but for now I dont see the need it sounds damm good stock!

[jshaffer23]

Try a K100 in it. I have two in my Stage 60 and it is a BEAST. I didnt like V30's in mine either.

[Hendog]

Originally Posted by jshaffer23

Try a K100 in it. I have two in my Stage 60 and it is a BEAST. I didnt like V30's in mine either.

Yeah, the K100 is my blackup plan.

I think the G12H (heritage) and the G1265 are supposed to be good with Marshall flavored amps, right???

[axuality.com]

Originally Posted by jshaffer23

Try a K100 in it. I have two in my Stage 60 and it is a BEAST. I didnt like V30's in mine either.

I had an HT 40 and liked it so well, I returned it and got a Stage60. I love the stock speakers. I wonder if they didn't slightly voice the amp for them.
But anyway, I have a 4x12 of K100s, it's a tempting plan you mention to put some in the Stage 60.

[jlagrassa]

Originally Posted by axuality.com

I had an HT 40 and liked it so well, I returned it and got a Stage60. I love the stock speakers. I wonder if they didn't slightly voice the amp for them.
But anyway, I have a 4x12 of K100s, it's a tempting plan you mention to put some in the Stage 60.

According to Blackstar they did voice the amp to work nicely with the 70/80, the speaker definitely shines at band volume.

[mikey_s]

Hey folks, I have the HT-40, and I think it's an amazing amp... The clean channel really surprised me... but the dirty is absolutely AWESOME!

Only problem is that there's always a certain "hum" which is noticeable even in lower volumes, but really apparent in louder volumes, even in the clean channel, but it gets much worse on the lead channel... I thought it might have to do with the electricity and ground issues in my apartment, but I face the same issues in different places... anyone faced the same problem? can it be a tubes issue? any suggestions?

[jlagrassa]

Originally Posted by mikey_s

Hey folks, I have the HT-40, and I think it's an amazing amp... The clean channel really surprised me... but the dirty is absolutely AWESOME!

Only problem is that there's always a certain "hum" which is noticeable even in lower volumes, but really apparent in louder volumes, even in the clean channel, but it gets much worse on the lead channel... I thought it might have to do with the electricity and ground issues in my apartment, but I face the same issues in different places... anyone faced the same problem? can it be a tubes issue? any suggestions?

No Issues with mine it is very quiet!

it's possible it could be a tube issue... do you just plug straight in or do you have fx in front and in the fx loop, if you do use fx remove everything from the amp and just plug your guitar in and see if the problem is still there

[Renardm]

The only hum I notice is when the gain is at 3:00 or more. Other than that it is a pretty quiet amp.

[mikey_s]

Hey again, thanks for the answers, I'm plugging straight to the amp, I tried using different cables, all high quality ones, no go... Maybe it's a tube issue, is there a way I can check it out visually?